Trump: Putin summit productive but "we didn't get there" on Ukraine deal
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President Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a constructive summit on Friday but "we didn't get there" on a ceasefire or peace deal for Ukraine.
Why it matters: Trump set a ceasefire as the target for this summit, but said that while he and Putin agreed on most of the relevant issues they did not come to an agreement on "the biggest one." He added: "There's no deal until there's a deal."
- Putin did claim an "agreement" was reached, however, without offering any details. He urged "Kyiv and European capitals" to "perceive that constructively" and not "torpedo the nascent progress."
Speaking alongside Putin, Trump said the next step was that he would brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders. But it appears his hope of a swift follow-up summit involving Putin and Zelensky has not come to fruition.
- "We really made some great progress today. I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir," Trump said.
- "Next time in Moscow," Putin quipped in English at the end of the joint appearance. They did not take questions.
What he's saying: Putin lamented the fact that U.S.-Russia relations had fallen in recent years to "the lowest point since the Cold War" and it was time for the U.S. and Russia to move from "confrontation to dialogue."
- "Our negotiations have been held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect. We had very thorough negotiations that were quite useful," Putin said to open the briefing.
- He offered no signals that his position on Ukraine had softened. Putin insisted that the "root causes" of the conflict must be "eliminated" — language he has used before to push for the demilitarization of Ukraine.
Driving the news: Trump and Putin cut the summit shorter than expected, emerging before the press after meeting for around 2.5 hours.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff joined Trump, and Russian Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov and foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov joined Putin for that meeting.
- That "three on three" format was a last-minute change, as Trump and Putin were originally expected to meet with only translators.
- Senior officials from both sides were expected to join for a larger meeting over lunch, but that meeting appears to have been scrapped.
Catch up quick: Trump gave Putin a red carpet welcome at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, complete with a B-2 bomber flyover.
Between the lines: Trump said multiple times ahead of the summit that his goal was to obtain a ceasefire, though he wasn't sure if that was likely.
- He also said he hoped Putin would agree to a quick follow-up summit with Zelensky, possibly while they were all still in Alaska.
- He warned that Putin would face "severe consequences" if he didn't take any steps toward peace.
The intrigue: Both presidents offered asides about U.S. domestic politics.
- Putin concurred with Trump's claim the war in Ukraine would never have started on his watch, while Trump referred to Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. election as a "hoax."
The bottom line: Trump's conclusion, at least publicly, seems to be that this meeting was a success. But he did not offer any concrete statements as to what was achieved.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.
